1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing system and a server, in which at least a server and an image processing apparatus are connected via a network and the server and the image processing apparatus cooperate to execute a process, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a multi function peripheral having functions of a scanner, a printer, a copier, a facsimile, etc., is also becoming web-compliant. For example, there is a multi function peripheral that includes a web browser that can access a web server through operation of the browser from a console panel of the multi function peripheral to reference or print a folder or a document of the server.
In offices, a network system is proposed that can define a processing flow with a combination of a plurality of various services provided by a multi function peripheral or a web server to simplify the user operation. In such a system, a plurality of devices connected to the network can process data inputted through operations, such as scanning and FAX reception, in the multi function peripheral. When a plurality of devices execute a plurality of processes, an error may occur in one of the processes. For example, if the processes are again executed from the beginning when an error occurs after the completion of some of the processes, the processes carried out up to that point are rendered useless, and the convenience of the user is impaired. Therefore, a function for saving the data of the job, in which an error has occurred, in the multi function peripheral and for allowing the restart of the job later by an instruction of the user is desired. For example, an image forming apparatus of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-305928 can save the data being printed in the multi function peripheral, not only when there is an error during the execution of a print job, but also when a cancel instruction of printing is inputted from a console panel. The user can instruct the restart of the print job.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-078759 proposes a system for saving data generated so far when an error occurs during the execution of a job, and the data is intended to be reused. An electronic signature is provided and saved in the multi function peripheral to improve the security of the data. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-288067 proposes a system for realizing a process in which a plurality of services are associated. In the system, when a service is infeasible during the execution of services that constitute the process, the infeasible service and the subsequent services are associated and processed.
In conventional techniques, the processing flow is intended to be restarted, and intermediate data generated so far is saved to allow the execution of the “infeasible service” and the “subsequent services”. However, if the problem causing the error is in the input data, the intermediate data cannot be reused, and first input operations, such as rescanning, usually need to be performed again. However, scanning of paper (document) is a cumbersome operation, and it is inefficient to scan the paper every time an error occurs.
There is a case that not all intermediate data is problematic, and the problem can be solved if only part of the data is replaced. In that case, the stored intermediate data may be manually replaced to restart the process. However, a manual operation is necessary to identify the replacing data and the reused data or to prepare for the restart of the process. Therefore, a complicated operation is required, and there is a high risk of confusing the user.
Furthermore, the operating multi function peripheral may not have the capability. For example, if there is a process that requires data with more than a certain resolution or color data, the multi function peripheral that does not have the capability to generate data adapted to the processing conditions cannot restart the process even if the data is replaced. Therefore, there is a problem in that an error cannot be solved simply by restarting the process using the saved intermediate data upon the restart of the process, or the convenience is impaired, when an error occurs in the processing flow.